that there is nowhere feasible to build alternative parking. Deidre Stark reports on retailers' concerns.

Banning cars, cycles and all parking in lower Reid Street would be a "disaster'' for merchants, several major retailers said yesterday.

And a trial run of a pedestrian mall scheme in the 1970s -- similar to the one proposed in the latest City of Hamilton Plan -- left the area "completely dead'' of shoppers.

The Planning and Transport Departments are working with the Corporation of Hamilton on the pedestrianisation project between Queen and Burnaby streets -- slated for possible completion as early as next year.

But Corporation of Hamilton secretary Roger Sherratt said nothing was finalised yet and planners were still conducting very thorough research on both negative and positive impacts of the proposal.

The Corporation held a meeting for retailers last month to discuss the proposal and was now setting up a committee of retailers for ongoing consultation, he said. But last night Trimingham Brothers president Eldon Trimingham described the proposal as a "starry-eyed vision'' of creating al fresco dining areas for restaurants in the area similar to those in Paris and other European cities.

And he said forcing change just to "make a mark'' was extremely dangerous when hundreds of jobs and the lifeblood of Bermuda's retail industry were at risk.

"The problem with pedestrian-only areas is that they must be backed up by extensive parking in close proximity, he said.

"And in Bermuda clearly today there's nowhere to build alternative parking that is really feasible. Also al fresco dining has been tried by many people here and doesn't work without screens because of the wind and the dust.'' He said since the proposal was made public his telephone had not stopped ringing with calls from other retailers worried about how the plan would impact on business.

"All the big employers that run from Reid Street through to Front Street are unanimously very, very concerned about this.

"And those that don't have access to Front Street are in an even worse position but I don't know what they are thinking.'' He stressed that a mistake on the issue would not only be expensive to fix but could force some businesses to permanently close their doors.

"And there's a lot of confusion whether the pedestrian-only area will extend into Queen Street and also some of Front Street as well. The actual shading on the plan shows something similar for those areas as well.'' More than 30 one-hour car parking spaces would be permanently lost through the plan which for an eight-hour day translated into at least 240 serious shoppers, he said.

Although there would be more if some did not park for a complete hour which was often the case.

Concern over proposal for Reid Street Taking the 300 shopping days per year those figures translated into 72,000 "serious shoppers'' who would not be as likely to spend their money.

And he said his calculations were very conservative since they did not include cycle parking or cars carrying more than one shopper.

"With this scheme they talk about attracting people and getting them to wander about, but to keep all of these businesses running we don't need people wandering about, we need serious shoppers. "The four larger retailers on the south side of Reid Street employ more than 700 people and all those people are completely dependent on no mistake being made on this.

"Retailers have enough problems with the tourism business going down hill and overseas shopping increasing. Hopefully the Corporation of Hamilton will be interested in what these retailers think.'' A.S. Cooper & Sons Ltd. managing director Peter Cooper also voiced his concerns which he said were widespread among major employers.

"If they pedestrianise without providing adequate parking in a nearby vicinity it would be a disaster for the merchants.

"They would really need big parking lots at both ends of Reid Street for cars but that is impossible to do unless they buy adjoining property and nobody's going to turn that sort of real estate into car parks.'' He said he recalled a pedestrianisation scheme in the 1970s which "just deadened the whole area'' virtually turning it into a ghost town, and was quickly reversed. But the Corporation's Mr. Sherratt said that trial had been carried out in the dead of winter and differed from the latest proposal since the street was closed off to vehicles with barriers but "not enhanced in any way''.

And he said it was likely that some car parking spaces would be marked off in the City Hall car park and on Front Street only for short-term parking or shoppers rather than all day workers. "The Corporation is particularly aware of the fact that retailers are having a very difficult time because they have to compete with overseas retailers and the Internet as well as the drop in tourists,'' he said.

"The committee of retailers that we are trying to set up will review all the ideas, problems and solutions before changes are made.'' Hive of activity: A bustling Reid Street yesterday afternoon. Merchants fear creating a traffic-free zone at the lower end of the street will deaden the area.